Do you ever wake up to the shrill buzzer of your alarm with a tightness in your chest, a rapid heartbeat and/or a pit in your stomach? And you're tempted just to roll over and go back to sleep just so you don't have to deal with this feeling and face the day?

Waking up in the morning after a night's rest should be the least stressful part of the day. Yet, most mornings, I wake up with this inexplicable feeling of panic. Sometimes, shortly after I get out of bed, this feeling of anxiety melts away. Other times, it lasts for hours, even after I arrive at work.

So why does this happen? And how can you prevent it?

Some causes of morning anxiety may be low blood sugar, a fear of being late, nightmares, lack of sleep, and/or a stressful job.

Here are some tips for making the transition from a peaceful sleep to waking up more pleasant, according to trans4mind.com:

Switch your alarm clock noise to your favorite music or gradual pleasant chimes that increase in volume and frequency. Right now, my alarm sounds similar to a foghorn, so I'm thinking this suggestion could really help me out.

Place your alarm clock (or phone) out of arm's reach so you have to get out of bed to turn it off. I started practicing this last week by plugging my phone into the bathroom wall instead of by my bed. Also, check out this runaway alarm clock on Amazon.

Put your robe and slippers next to your bed so you can stay warm and comfy as you climb out from under your covers.

Keep a snack that contains "good" complex carbohydrates and protein by your bed to eat right after you wake up. You went the whole night without food, so your brain may have "run out of fuel" as you slept. Some good carbs are nuts, whole grain crackers, pretzels or a granola bar.

Turn on upbeat music as you get ready for your day.

Change how you perceive waking up. Practice thinking positively when you wake up and say out loud, "What a wonderful day!"

Here's an example from the TV show "Friends" of how you should be starting your day:

On a Sunday afternoon in London, a 24-year-old woman stripped down to her underwear in the middle of a busy road.

No, this wasn't a drunken dare made by her friends. Jae West, an eating disorder survivor, did this to promote self-acceptance.

West blindfolded herself as she stood, half-naked, on the streets of Piccadilly Circus. A sign in front of her read, "I’m standing for anyone who has struggled with an eating disorder or self-esteem issue like me. To support self-acceptance draw a ♥ on my body."

"All of a sudden I felt one of the pens in my left hand slip out of my grasp. The feeling of the felt pen on my skin was one of the most overwhelming feelings of relief, gratitude and love that I’ve ever felt. I just burst into tears," she said.

"After that first love heart was drawn it felt like others were liberated to follow suit because soon all the pens were leaving my hands at a rapid pace."

One of the most moving experiences, West said, was when she heard a father explaining to his young daughter what the experiment meant to him. He told her that everyone should love themselves exactly as they are and appreciate the bodies they are given.

"If everyone could know and appreciate how beautiful they are from childhood, I think this world would be a very different place," West said.

As someone who has dealt with a negative body image for most of my life, I think what West did was very brave and raised awareness of a very important issue in the world today.

I have dealt with low self-esteem since middle school -- when I was the first girl in my class to get a pimple...and the last girl to grow boobs. This ultimately affected the way I've viewed myself ever since. But West's acceptance of her own body and her mission to help others accept their bodies made me want to stop letting my own issues hinder me as well.

As West said, "We really can be our own worst critics. The unrealistic expectations we place on ourselves can cause us to reject the love that others openly give because of a feeling of unworthiness."

"With the growing prevalence of eating-disorders and self-esteem issues around the world, this public act of self-acceptance aims to get people to question the true relationship that they have to themselves and body-image."

And, last week, there was a lot of change in my life. Last Monday, I moved an hour and a half away from Oakland County (where I have lived my entire life) to Lansing, and Tuesday I started a communications job with the State of Michigan.

Everyone has moments, good or bad, when their whole life changes. And being at the precipice of that change is, well, really stressful. For me, a couple days after the move, I had one of the worst panic attacks I've ever had. I felt like a kid again as I thought to myself, "What if they don't like me? What if I'm not good at this?"

Does anyone else have this happen? That, even when the change is good, you can't help but freak out?

I think change is stressful because it brings uncertainty. At my previous job, I liked knowing what I was doing. And now, here I am, starting back at square one.

According to psychologists, the older you get, the more scared you are of change because you are more rooted in your daily schedule. But, in life, besides death and taxes, change really is one of the only inevitable things. So, how can you cope -- without having a complete mental breakdown (which, let me tell you from experience, is not fun)?

Allow yourself to freak out but make sure not to fixate on what you lost - Relationship and family therapist Roger S. Gil told lifehacker.com: "Do all the crying, kicking, and screaming you need to do; then start to seek out ways to make your new situation more livable and enjoyable. Fixating on what was lost as a result of the change will prevent us from experiencing the good things that our new circumstances can bring us."

Ask others for help - Whether it's family, friends, fellow employees, a counselor or a support group, don't be afraid to talk to someone about how you're feeling.

Take extra care of your emotional and physical health - If you're facing a new change, make sure to get enough sleep, eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly, etc., according to a press release by the Iowa National Guard.

Find time to relax - Take time for relaxation techniques, like yoga or meditation, every day. Do something to take your mind off of the stress, like watching a funny movie.

Research - To ease your uncertainty, do as much research as you can about the change you are going through.

If you can help it, don't make any more big changes - Pace yourself. Try to postpone making any other big decisions, if you can help it, until you adjust to this one.

Live in the moment - Focus on the task at hand so you won't get overwhelmed. Don't think so far in the future about how this change will affect the rest of your life. Instead, think about what you will do today.

Think about the positives of change - Joan Borysenko, Ph.D., coauthor of the book Saying Yes to Change, told FamilyCircle.com, "People who greet what life offers with curiosity have stronger immune systems and live longer." Think of change as a new adventure and opportunity for growth. After all, life would be pretty boring if there was no change and life, every day, was exactly the same.